Illinois Fighting Illini head coach and Kasparas Jakučionis former coach Brad Underwood joins the show! Coach Underwood describes why Miami was the perfect fit for Kasparas, how good of a passer he is, and his work ethic.
00:00We're certainly excited because the Miami Heat got a bit of a surprise in the first round.
00:03Kasperis Yucachonis ended up falling to Miami at 20, where a lot of people didn't think
00:08that he was going to be there for Miami.
00:11And Illinois had a hell of a draft because they ended up having back-to-back picks go
00:15there in the first round.
00:16His teammate, Will Riley, went right after him.
00:18And we got the head coach of the Fighting Illini joining us here on the Toilet of Hollywood
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00:28Coach Brad Underwood joining us here on the show.
00:31Coach, how are you this morning?
00:33Yeah, I'm doing great, guys.
00:33Thanks for having me.
00:35It's great to have you.
00:35Thanks for making time for us.
00:37We really appreciate it.
00:38Can you take us to draft night?
00:40Because I imagine that went from a little bit stressful, because I think people thought
00:43Kasperis may have gone a little early, to you have this awesome moment for your program
00:47where they both go back-to-back.
00:49What was that night like?
00:50Yeah, very fun.
00:53I told them before the draft, both of them, you know, expect the unexpected.
00:59You never know what's going to happen.
01:01It seems like every year that there's a shock or two, guy taken, somebody drops or slips.
01:08But truly, that means nothing.
01:11The number means nothing.
01:12It's about the organization, and it's about the opportunity.
01:16We've been through this before.
01:18We went through it a little bit with Io DeSumo.
01:19A few years ago, it ends up in a great spot, and in KJ's case, Kasperis' case, it was phenomenal.
01:29Just couldn't end up with a better organization, in a better spot, a Hall of Fame coach, two
01:36budding superstars to play with, and what a great spot for him.
01:42One of the things that's amazing is you not only had your two players, but you coached against
01:47Vlad Golden.
01:48Yes.
01:49So you actually know about three of the players that the Heat ended up, you know, either signing
01:58or drafting.
02:02I have an off-the-wall question, is that have you ever seen two guys go in like the top
02:11five or ten, five or ten, and that college team not make the tournament?
02:19Yeah.
02:20I think it speaks volumes to how good our league is, I think, to how good this year was just
02:30an incredible group of freshmen in the Big Ten.
02:34I think you look at, you know, KJ, Will, the two Rutgers guys who you're referring to, and
02:41Ace and Harper, Derrick Queen, Jace Richardson.
02:47I mean, you know, it's just an elite year.
02:50The league was filled with young talent, but, you know, Steve Peichel's a tremendous coach,
02:57and, you know, if you don't have all five spots, it's very hard to win in this league with just,
03:04you know, with just a couple of guys.
03:06And that was the case this year, but the league's so good top to bottom.
03:14If you don't have a stacked team and some depth, it gets very hard to win.
03:20So, Coach, tell us a little bit about, like, KJ off the court.
03:24Like, what is the things that make him tick as a player, you know, that made him so successful?
03:30Yeah, you know, you think about this, it probably goes understated that, you know, you've got
03:34a young man moving across the water, 18 years old, new team, new friends, new situation,
03:47you know, going to classes, university structure, and that's a lot of change.
03:55And then to step in and make the adjustments to handle those situations in such a mature way,
04:03KJ's very mature beyond his years.
04:08He was a pro long before he was announced as a draft choice in his approach.
04:13He was a great student of the game, maybe the best I've ever had in terms of studying and film.
04:20And he's very serious in terms of his approach.
04:25His diet, his recovery process, his workouts are extremely disciplined.
04:35You know, there's a young man who hadn't eaten sugar since he was 13.
04:39You know, a guy that, you know, he's not enjoying Skittles and wings.
04:43You know, he's very serious about that stuff and his approach, extremely, extremely competitive.
04:52And a guy that, you know, is a winner first and foremost.
04:59And it's why it's such a great fit with Coach Spolstra and the Heat.
05:04Have you found that younger players now are more prepared for the various levels of basketball that they're going to than they were, say, 15 years ago?
05:17I think to a certain extent, yes.
05:20I think in some ways, no.
05:22I think the physical parts of the game and the competition that they see are at an elite level.
05:33You know, that's changed a great deal with the prep school situations and, you know, some of these schools that, you know, stockpile talent.
05:42So it's not that they haven't seen great players.
05:45I think that the challenge has become is how hard it is to win in college.
05:50And how hard it is to be a good college player first.
05:56You don't just bypass all of that.
05:59You have to take the steps to do that.
06:02The strength and conditioning piece is very different.
06:07Most of these kids at the high school level have never been in shape.
06:10They think they are, but they don't know what that is until they get to this level.
06:16So I think it's, you know, it's a little bit of give and take on both of those, on both sides of that.
06:23But kids are very prepared in terms of the talent and they're not in awe of anything anymore.
06:34Now, the thing that, like, stood out immediately when he got drafted, we all started, like, you know, started looking at the highlight reels.
06:41I mean, his passes are absolutely sick, coach.
06:45The thing that this kid can pull off with the basketball, when did that, like, pop for you when you saw, oh, my God, I can't believe that he saw that or can pull those off?
06:53Like, did that, did that pop immediately?
06:55Did that start developing in the season?
06:57When did you, when did you notice KJ's passing ability?
07:00No, I'm enamored with passing.
07:02And in the recruiting process, that's what stood out the most.
07:07That and his ability to hit game winners.
07:10You know, he was Mr. Clutch.
07:12But there's not a pass he can't make.
07:15And that's very, very rare for a player his age, right-handed, left-handed.
07:23It's really fun as a coach.
07:26He may have a turnover and you ask him, you know, what did you see?
07:31And what he sees is ahead of the game.
07:36It's ahead of most people.
07:37It's a frame or two ahead.
07:40And you, as a coach, you see it and you're just almost amazed at, like, okay, you know,
07:45it's hard to get mad when he turns it over because the read was right.
07:50But he is, I think he'll be great in the NBA when you eliminate the three seconds in the paint.
07:56The rule we have in college, it'll open the floor for him.
08:01That's why he's such a great teammate.
08:03He can elevate everybody.
08:06You're putting a lob threat with him now and picking roles as well.
08:11So I think that it's very exciting for me to watch him continue to develop because he is such an elite passer.
08:19Oh, yeah.
08:20So you've already thought about what him and Kalel could be like together.
08:24It's the one thing.
08:25We had a stretch five who could really shoot it.
08:30And that duo together was elite.
08:35And, you know, now you give that lob threat, that'll put a lot of stress on the front of the rim.
08:42Yeah, I'm curious about the turnover thing that you mentioned is interesting because it's like everybody pointed that out when he got drafted as turnover numbers.
08:50But I imagine as a coach, if you have a guy running your team and he has that creativity, you don't want to, like, strangle that out of him either.
08:57Like, you don't want the kid to be gun shy, especially.
09:01So, like, how did you guys balance that with him, especially being a young kid only in his first year?
09:06Yeah, he really grew in that area.
09:08And, again, I looked at it like Luka from this standpoint.
09:13If you watch Luka, Luka turns the ball over.
09:16And K.J. really grew in that area because he started to understand situations more as the season went on.
09:28And I never wanted to stunt his – I usually clapped when he turned it over.
09:34He had one or two where you were just like, okay, you know, he's going to throw one in the third row and you just get it out of the way now.
09:43And then he settles in and he doesn't make that play again.
09:47He's very cerebral.
09:48He's very conscientious of those things.
09:52But his situations grew and he became more comfortable in those numbers came down.
09:59Is K.J. a player where, you know, when he has a turnover like that and you ask him what he saw,
10:07you wait kind of for the response before you determine the level of the turnover?
10:11Yeah, no doubt.
10:14I know what I see.
10:16Right.
10:17And sometimes it was more explaining to him about the situation that we were in, you know,
10:25than it was the turnover of the play.
10:29The play was usually always going to be the right play.
10:33It might not just have been at the right time.
10:36And it might be we need to turn that one down to get to the next option.
10:42That's growth, though.
10:43That's that's from playing the game and playing at different levels.
10:46And once you learn the different, you know, the time of it, you know, it's kind of like a quarterback.
10:53When it's third and 14 in the first quarter, you don't have to stuff it in there.
10:58But with this third and 14 in the fourth quarter and you need to win the game, sometimes you've got to take chances.
11:03That's right.
11:04And he's fearless.
11:06He knows he can make the passes.
11:08He knows he can make the plays.
11:11There's a there's a undeniable fearless mentality with him that is really fun to coach.
11:20What was what was the night like after both your guys get selected?
11:24Like, what were the emotions of that like?
11:26Tremendous, you know, and to go back to back, it was really neat because they went through the process then after the draft and they do all the backstage stuff and the NBA social and and all of the interviews.
11:42And they're right there together.
11:43And, you know, as a coach, you can't help but have a smile on your face.
11:47You know, you're you're like the the proud father.
11:50And, you know, then when it came to all the all the pictures and the photography, we got we were able to to put them together.
11:59You know, there were roommates on the road.
12:01They're they're they're very close friends.
12:03And for them to have that night in an individual way and yet to turn around and be able to celebrate it with a teammate and a good friend and get those pictures.
12:15It was really neat.
12:16And and all their families know each other.
12:20And and so it was it was a pretty cool after after the moment type night and and had a lot of fun as a coach enjoying that moment with them.
12:33I heard Adam Simon that night, the he the assistant GM, he was talking about that.
12:38You guys told him that the that KJ has no hobbies like you always just found him in the gym, that he was that kind of crazy about.
12:45Is that true?
12:46Is that that that's the the type of the guy is as far as his dedication to basketball?
12:52Yes.
12:52And I think that will it's what he knows.
12:56He's he's very, very, very funny.
12:59I've always said that, you know, we had a young man on our team, Thomas Lava Viseach, who will be in next year's draft and one of the top guys coming back.
13:08And and to listen to those two, they could make millions and millions on a podcast because they're hilarious.
13:16And and Kaspers is very funny.
13:22He's got a dry humor, but he's very smart and, you know, so he's he's he loves to sit and talk to people.
13:31He loves to he's very social that way, but he's not a guy that goes out.
13:36He's not into the he's not into all the extracurriculars of the bar scene and clubs and and and all that.
13:44He's way more serious about the game and wants to to become the best he can be and and just doesn't think that stuff benefits him.
13:53Well, coach, congratulations.
13:54That's an awesome night for your program.
13:55And thanks for giving us some time talking about Kaspers Yakachonas.
13:59Absolutely, guys.
14:00Appreciate that great rest of your summer.
14:02You too.
14:02Take care.
14:03That's coach Brad Underwood, head coach of the Fighting Illini, the University of Illinois, and appreciate him giving us the time.
